Sign the Petition to

Yuri Yakovlevich Chaika - Prosecutor General

Free Pussy Riot!
I am writing to express my deep concern about Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who were sentenced to two years in a penal colony for their participation in a February 2012 protest action by the feminist punk-rock group Pussy Riot at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. These two women, both mothers in their twenties, were detained solely for their peaceful expression of their beliefs. They are Prisoners of Conscience.
I call on you to ensure that Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are immediately and unconditionally released. While they remain incarcerated, the two women must not be ill-treated by prison staff or inmates, and they must be allowed regular contact with their families and legal teams.
In closing, I welcome the news of Ekaterina Samutsevich’s freedom, but remain concerned about the conditional status of the release. The three Pussy Riot members should not have been prosecuted in the first place. I call on you and all authorities to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression in the Russian Federation, and to remedy the unjust treatment of these young women immediately.
I thank you for your attention.

Signed,

Amnesty International

This petition closed 12 months ago

How this will help

In February 2012, members of Pussy Riot performed mere seconds of a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral that was critical of authorities in Russia. Two women - Nadezhda "Nadya"...

In February 2012, members of Pussy Riot performed mere seconds of a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral that was critical of authorities in Russia. Two women - Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova and Maria "Masha" Alekhina – were found guilty of "hooliganism" and are serving sentences in notoriously brutal penal colonies. Disappointingly, a court recently ruled not to allow Masha, a single mother, to defer serving her sentence until her son turned 14.

The two women are prisoners of conscience and there is serious concern for their safety.